Napkin-holder



' (No- Model.)

W. BOWER. NAPKIN HOLDER.

Patented Feb. 4, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..-

lVILLIAH BOVER, OF NEIV BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

NAPKlN-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,833, dated February 4, 1896.

A li ation fil d June 20, 1893. Serial No. 478,290. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ILLIAM BOVVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Napkin-Holders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

M y invention relates to devices adapted to be secured to the edge of a table for holding a napkin in front of the person in such man- 11 er as to protect the clothing from being soiled while eating; and it has for its object to provide a device of this nature-which will be of a neat and attractive appearance, whichwill not interfere in any degree with the movements of the arms while eating, and which will follow the movements of the body toward and away from the table and thereby insure the complete protection of the clothing under all circumstances.

To these ends my invention consists in the napkin-holder constructed and operating as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters designate like parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a side view of a napkin-holder embodying the invention, the outline of the napkin being indicated by broken lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is a front view of the napkin distending and hold ing frame. Fig. 4 is an end view of the clamp by which the holder is secured to the table. Fig. 5 is a cross-section, taken upon line a: a: of Fig. 2. Figs. 6 and '7 illustrate a slight modification.

The letter a designates a rod or standard having secured to its upper end a head 1), preferably made tubular in form, as shown, said head being provided at its upper end with the rearwardly-curved arms I), extending horizontally therefrom in opposite directions, and with the braces 12 uniting the outer ends of said arms to the body near its lower end to increase the stiffness of said arms.

The arms Z) will be provided at their outer end with means for engaging and holding the napkin, the means herein shown consisting of slits b into which the edge of the napkin can be drawn, as represented in Fig. l by broken lines. At its lower end said rod or standard enters a tubular support 0, and a binding-screw c passing through the wall of said support against the rod enables the latter to be adjusted vertically within the support. Said support is alsopreferably provided with an internal lug 0 which enters a longitudinal groove in the rod to prevent any rotary movement of the latter within the sup port. (See Fig. 5.) At its front side the support 0 is provided with a horizontally-disposed tubular socket 0 the ends of which abut against ears (1 on the clamping-jaw (Z, and a bolt passing through said ears and said socket connects the support to said jaw in such manner that the former is capable of a limited rocking movement to enable the rod a to move from the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1 to that shown by broken lines, a spring 6 bearing centrally against the support and having its ends coiled about said socket c normally retaining said rod in the former position.

The clamping-jaw d is of a substantially U shape, whereby it is adapted to embrace the edge of the table f, as shown, and abinding-screw 01 passing through the lower limb thereof and carrying at its upper end aswiveled bearing-head d enables said jaw to be securely fastened to the table. \Vhen said clamp is thus secured to the table the rod or standard a, in its normal position, stands at the proper angle to the table to cause it to hold the napkin against or closely adjacent to the bosom of the person sitting behind it, and the napkin being retained in a distended position by the arms b and its lower end resting upon the table, complete protection to the clothing is insured. The freedom of the holder to yield as the person bends forwardly, and the action of the spring 6 in causing it to follow the movement of the body in the opposite direction, insures the close application of the napkin to the body at all times and without discomfort to the person using the same; furthermore, the use of a single centrally-disposed standard to support the napkin prevents the holder from interfering with the movements of the hands in eating, as would be the case if two standards separated from each other a distance corresponding to the distance between the ends of the arms I) were used.

The capacity of the standard for vertical adjustment enables it to be set to hold the napkin at any desired height, and to be lowered to a position where it does not interfere with the operation of laying the table when not in use. The holder will preferably be nickel-plated, thereby causing it to present an ornamental and attractive appearance.

I do not wish to limit myself to the means at the ends of the arms I) for engaging the napkin, nor to the particular form of clamp for engaging the table, herein shown and described, as modifications therein can be made Without departure from the spirit of my invention.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated a slightlymodified form of the device, Fig. 7 being a cross-section taken upon line 1 1 of Fig. 6, in which I have provided means for temporarily locking the support 0 in a substantially vertical position, or in the position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 1, whereby the holder is caused to not interfere with the movements of a person when seating himself at the table and drawing the chair close to the latter. Said means as herein shown consist of a short shaft g passing transversely through the clamping-jaw d, at the front end of the latter, and carryinga finger-piece g at one end thereof, and a short arm projecting laterally from said shaft at or near the center thereof, the outer face of the jaw cl being recessed, as shown, to receive said arm. By turning said shaft to cause its arm to occupy the position shown by full lines in Figs. 6 and 7, said arm will lock the support 0 in a substantially vertical position, and by turning the shaft to cause its arm to stand in the position shown by broken lines in Fig. 6, after the person is seated at the table, said support and the rod to will be returned by the spring a to their normal position, when the operation of the holder will be as before described. A cam-shaped piece carried by the shaft 9 would accomplish the same result. \Vhile said locking means is not essential to the operation of the holder I prefer to use it in all cases, but the particular form thereof can be varied within the spirit of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A napkin-holder comprising in combination a clamp for engaging the edge of the table, a tubular support pivotally connected to said clamp, a spring which presses the upper end of said support in a direction away from the table, a rod or standard adapted for a sliding movement within said support and having at its upper end means for holding a napkin in a distended position, and means for securing said rod or standard at any desired height upon said support, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a napkinholder, the combination with the clamp (Z provided with the ears d, of the tubular support 0 having the socket 0 adapted to receive a bolt passing through said ears on the clamp and provided with the binding-screw c, and rod a having at its upper end the oppositely-extending curved arms Z) provided at their outer ends with the napkin-retaining slits I)", substantially set forth.

3. In a napkinholder, the combination with a clamping member adapted to be secured to the table, of a tubular support pivotally connected to said clamping member, a rod adj ustably held within said support and provided at its upper end with means for engaging and holding the napkin, a spring normally pressing said support in a direction away from the table, and means for lockin g said support in a substantially vertical position, substantially as set forth.

4. In a napkin -holder, the combination with the clamping-jaw d, and the support a pivotally connected thereto, of a shaft, as g, mounted on said jaw and provided with means, as arm 1 for engaging said support to hold the latter in a substantially vertical position, and spring 6, arranged and operating substantially as described.

IVILLIAM BOWER. Witnesses:

W. H. CHAPMAN, J. E. CHAPMAN. 

